Ill. Judge Can't Probe Robbery Dismissal Sanctions, Feds Say

By Lauraann Wood

Federal prosecutors in Chicago say an Illinois magistrate judge looking to probe possible sanctions over missteps that led the government to dismiss a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives robbery case lacks authority to do so, and they anticipate seeking the Seventh Circuit's "immediate" intervention if she decides any differently.

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7th Circ. Questions Contempt On Hytera Radio Redesign

By Lauraann Wood

A Seventh Circuit panel seemed unsure Wednesday that a district court correctly found Motorola Solutions Inc. entitled to a cut of Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd.'s sales of redesigned mobile radios under a 2022 royalty order entered after a jury found Hytera liable for trade secret theft.

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Farm Says $99M Deere Right-To-Repair Deal Is Unfair

By Mike Curley

One of the farms suing Deere & Co. in federal right to repair litigation is objecting to a $99 million settlement that received preliminary approval in May, saying the deal provides minimal relief compared to what the class could have gotten at trial, especially since more than half of it may go to class counsel.

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Walmart Hit With Ill. Biometric Privacy Suit For Recorded Calls

By Celeste Bott

Walmart has been hit in Illinois state court with a proposed class action claiming that customers' voiceprints were recorded and captured for fraud prevention purposes when they called the retail giant's customer service line, without the required consent and disclosures under Illinois' biometric privacy law.

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Cleaning Co. Agrees To $500K Deal Over OT, Sick Leave Claim

By MJ Koo

A Texas commercial cleaning company agreed to pay $500,000 to settle claims that it failed to pay overtime wages and provide paid sick leave to Colorado workers it employed through subcontractors, according to a motion for preliminary settlement approval filed Wednesday in Colorado federal court.

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7th Circ. Backs Fraud Conviction Over WhatsApp Evidence

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the wire fraud and money laundering conviction of a man who challenged the admission of incriminating WhatsApp messages between him and an uncharged co-conspirator into evidence, saying the government's use of his own pretrial discovery disclosures to authenticate the messages didn't violate his constitutional right to testify.

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Series

Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

The last three months were particularly consequential for Illinois banking law, with a federal court ruling reshaping the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, the state filling enforcement gaps, significant legislative activity and a revision to the community bank leverage ratio, say attorneys at Riley Safer.

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Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

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Legal Sector Jobs Spike With Work 'Churning Right Along'

By Aebra Coe

The legal sector added 5,100 jobs in June, the largest increase the industry has seen in more than two years, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, the Asian Law Caucus and the Democracy Defenders Fund lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship.

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Feds Seek Up To 21 Months For Ex-Judge On ICE Obstruction

By Elizabeth Daley

A former Wisconsin judge who was convicted of obstructing ICE officers' courthouse arrest of a man facing misdemeanor charges by pointing him to a side door should spend up to 21 months in prison, the government said in a sentencing memo, recommending she be made an example.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week 

By Sue Reisinger

Amid the changes coming for general counsel, the policies and enforcement priorities of federal regulators may fluctuate more rapidly after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week that could dramatically remake independent government agencies. And the EEOC rescinded affirmative action documents that have guided employers for decades.

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Georgia Atty Can't Revive Defamation Suit Over Ethics Case

By Emily Johnson

The Georgia Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a Georgia attorney's defamation suit against two people involved in an unsuccessful disciplinary action against her, saying her rambling appeal failed to prove that the trial court erred in dismissing her claims.

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When Does A Firm's 'Breakup' Fee-Split Contract Go Too Far?

By Rachel Rippetoe

It looked like a win for plaintiffs' firms when the Kentucky Supreme Court recently upheld a firm's 75% claim on fees from cases an attorney took with him when he launched his own practice, but the narrow ruling may leave room for lawyers to challenge similar agreements as penalties for leaving their firms.

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Judges To Tour Rust Belt To Build Trust In Courts

By James Boyle

Days after the Fourth of July celebration of America's 250th birthday, a group of current and retired judges will lead a four-day bus tour through three states to promote one of the bedrock principles of the country's independence: the rule of law.

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Analysis

Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

By Jack Karp

The U.S. Supreme Court's stark ideological divisions were on full display this term, particularly as it issued long-awaited rulings in the last few days of June. Here, Law360 dives into the numbers behind this court term.

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Mass Tort Titan Paul J. Napoli Dies

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Paul J. Napoli, an influential plaintiffs attorney who worked on some of the nation's highest-profile mass tort matters in recent decades, died on Tuesday at the age of 58.

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Skadden Adds Mass Torts Litigator As Partner In Chicago

By Christine DeRosa

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has grown its mass torts litigation offerings in Chicago with the addition of a Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP attorney, the firm said.

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'Embarrassed' Conn. Atty Details ChatGPT Briefing Errors

By Aaron Keller

With a sanctions hearing on the horizon, a Connecticut attorney has told the state's highest court he is "extremely embarrassed" by artificial intelligence errors in briefs filed in two recently decided cases, explaining he used ChatGPT to edit his research without knowing it could make "unprompted changes to the content."

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Del. Magistrate Orders JPMorgan To Advance Javice Fees

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court ruled Thursday that JPMorgan Chase & Co. must advance millions more in disputed legal fees to cover the appeal of the convicted founder of college financial aid startup Frank, concluding the bank failed to meet Delaware's demanding standard for withholding advancement by showing the billing requests reflected "clear abuse."

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Ex-DOJ Fraud Section Chief Joins Fried Frank

By Nadia Dreid

Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP has added a veteran litigator from the U.S. Department of Justice who also brings more than a decade of experience representing financial institutions in white collar, enforcement and complex litigation spaces.

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Reed Smith Adds Ex-Norton Rose Partner, RE Atty In Munich

By Nate Beck

Reed Smith LLP has bolstered its private equity practice with the hire of a former Norton Rose Fulbright group leader in Munich.

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McCarter Atty Knew 'Magic Words' For $20M Deals, Court Told

By Brian Steele

If a onetime McCarter & English LLP partner had raised a single red flag about a Long Island town's legally flimsy agreement to repay $20 million worth of a businessman's loans, the ill-fated deals never would have gone forward, a Connecticut court heard Thursday.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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